The latest on California politics and government

February 1, 2013

Today's the day we get to see how 2012 treated Sacramento's lobbyists. Firms brought in a total of $172.6 million last year, according to the latest reports on file with the California of Secretary of State. That's down 2.4 percent from what they earned in 2011.

A few changes in 2012: The Lang Hansen firm replaced Nielsen Merksamer as the shop bringing in the most money. KP Public Affairs moved up to the number two spot, after landing at number three in 2011. Aaron Read slipped to number five after being in fourth place in 2011. And John Latimer's firm, Capitol Advocacy, jumped from number five in 2011 to number three last year.

Records show Joe Lang's firm benefited in 2012 from contracts with Comcast, Union Pacific Railroad, various water agencies, Facebook, Wal-Mart, Altria and the American Chemistry Council, among others.

The chart above shows the 25 firms that brought in the most money in 2012. Scroll over the bars to see more detail.